Dear Old High School
by mynameisella
Summary: Ino and Sakura, new stepsisters, have just moved to Tokyo. The two are best friends, but total opposites. Sakura's a punk with a five-year-old's attitude and Ino's a prep who sometimes acts like she's high on sugar... DeiIno and PeinSaku mainly
1. First Day

Yay, first chapter story! :D

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, it'd be an Akatsuki manga... So, obviously I don't own it...

**First Day**

Sakura Haruno took a deep breath, glancing at Ino, her confident best friend and now step sister. Ino smiled, looking completely at ease.

"Sakura-chan, everything'll be fine, don't worry!" Ino reassured her new sister. She gave her a quick hug. Sakura, starting to freak because of nerves, glared at her.

"This is your entire fault, Ino-chan!" Sakura growled. "You just_ had _to get your dad and my mom together!" Sakura's mother, Ichigo, and Ino's father, Inoichi, had recently gotten married. Shortly after the marriage, Inoichi had been relocated to Tokyo. Thus, Ino, Sakura, and Ichigo had been forced to move with him. Ino was used to be relocated a lot; Inoichi got a lot of promotions.

Ino grinned; she knew Sakura was just nervous. "I know, I know. I'm just a hopeless romantic!" Ino pretended to swoon. Sakura snorted and shoved Ino playfully.

"Ladies," The girls' homeroom teacher, Kurenai, said. "Come on in and introduce yourselves." Ino nodded, turning to Sakura.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan!" Ino dragged her step sister into the classroom.

* * *

The classroom buzzed, all wondering who these new students were. Kurenai had just given them all a long lecture on how to treat a new student. That meant to "be nice." Like that was gonna happen with the preps at this school!

Two girls entered the classrooms. The class fell silent. The girls were total opposites, yet any idiot could tell they were the best of friends.

The one girl would fit in nicely with Temari and Karin, the head preps of the school. She had long blonde hair that was tied in a high ponytail with a thick lock of hair covering her sky blue, right eye. She was wearing a very low-cut, deep purple shirt with a dark blue tank-top underneath, preventing too much of her cleavage to be shown. She had a jean miniskirt and purple pumps that matched her shirt.

The girl standing beside her was nothing like her. She had shoulder-length bubblegum-pink hair that was covered with a black guys' hat. She was wearing an oversized graffiti-covered-looking band T-shirt and baggy pants that had various holes and rips on the knees. She was also wearing skater shoes.

"Heyy, I'm Ino Yamanaka and this is my sister- and best friend- Sakura Haruno!" The blonde Prep chirped. You could tell she was a people-person. She slung her arm around "Pinky's" shoulder, who smiled sheepishly.

"You're sisters, yet you have different surnames?" Kurenai-sensei asked. She sat on the edge of her desk, silently hoping Sakura would say something. She was quite happy when she did.

"Yea, we're stepsisters," Sakura replied. "Her dad married my mom." Kurenai-sensei nodded understandingly.

"You both may take any seat you wish," Kurenai-sensei gestured to the sea of desks that sat in front of them. Ino and Sakura rushed to the only empty seats that were next to each other.

* * *

Ino and Sakura made their way to their side-by-side lockers. Even when you looked inside their lockers, you could see how different they were. Sakura's was somehow painted a deep purple color inside and had posters of various scary bands on the sides. Ino's was somehow painted a pink color that matched Sakura's hair and had poster of the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus on the sides. Ino's also contained a mirror.

"Hey, Ino-chan!" A girl with dirty blonde hair that was tied up in four pigtails ran up to Ino, who looked very surprised. She gave Ino a hug. "I'm Temari; do you wanna eat lunch with us?" Ino look puzzled, but excited.

"Okay, can Sakura-chan join us, too?" Ino asked, hugging Sakura's arm, grinning. Temari made a face that clearly stated that she didn't want someone dressed like Sakura at her lunch table.

"Um, I guess," Temari answered, giving Ino a fake smile. She obviously wanted Ino to sit with her and her friends badly.

"Oh, it's alright." Sakura interjected. "Ino-chan, go sit with them! I'll be fine!" Sakura smiled earnestly. She wanted Ino to make some new friends and she knew Ino would fit in with Temari and her friends well.

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked worriedly. "We promised to sit together today!" Sakura waved her hand dismissively, still smiling.

"It's alright! Go!" Sakura pushed Ino playfully in Temari's direction, who smiled and led Ino toward the lunchroom. Sakura watched her friend walk away, grabbed her lunch, and headed outside. It was such a nice day outside that Sakura didn't want to stay inside.

Sakura settled herself under a tree and pulled out her lunch. It wasn't much at all. It was just a box of strawberry pocky. She began eating happily.

"Hey!" A voice shouted. Sakura looked up to see a big group of guys--- wait, there was one girl.

"Um, can I help you?" Sakura asked uncertainly. The people in front of her glared.

"That's our spot," One of the guys stated. He was a bit scary-looking. Spiky orange hair, three nose piercings, and a _lot _of earrings. Sakura glared, not at all intimidated like the guy wanted her to be.

"I don't see your name anywhere," She shot back, continuing to eat her pocky. Piercing Guy smirked and pointed to the tree in a spot that was right above her head. Sakura turned. It read, "Akatsuki". "Akatsuki? Is that your name?" Sakura laughed.

Piercing Guy glared harder. If looks could kill… "No, that's the name of our gang, ding-bat!" Sakura rolled her sea-foam green eyes. She wasn't giving up this spot, no matter what Piercing Guy wanted.

"So? It's not like I'm gonna move, anyway!" Sakura retorted, finishing off her box of pocky. She didn't move.

"Oh, just move, bitch!" One of the 'gang' members shouted. Sakura ignored him. She stared off into space, letting her mind wander to what she would be doing if she had never been forced to move. She probably be at some pizza place with Ino, Ino would probably be using her charm to get the pizza for free…

"Are you paying attention?!" The girl of the group, who had bright blue hair and two lip piercings, demanded. Sakura was pulled from her thoughts. She shrugged.

"I'm not moving, so deal with it!" Sakura stated, crossing her arms over her chest. Piercing Guy smirked, an idea dawning on him.

Before she knew it, Sakura was in the air. She kicked and swung her arms around wildly as Piercing Guy carried her away from the 'Akatsuki's' spot. She somehow managed to kick his cheek and elbow him in the stomach. She had no idea how.

Piercing Guy dropped her quickly, rubbing his cheek as he regained his breath. He glowered at her; she was beginning to think that that was all he knew how to do.

"Name's Pein, don't forget it," he growled, walking away. Sakura stood up and rubbed her sore butt. She hoped Ino was having a better lunch than she was.

* * *

Ino smiled at the group of girls and guys who were sitting at the table Temari had led her to. Temari grinned and introduced everyone. The guys at the table were Sasuke Uchiha, Kankuro, Neji Hyuuga, Shikamaru Nara, and Shino Aburame. The girls at the table were Karin, Hinata Hyuuga, and Tayuya.

"And, everyone, this is Ino Yamanaka! She's new here!" Temari said cheerfully, sitting next to Shikamaru. She kissed his cheek, which caused him to blush. Ino smiled, for the first time in her life she was feeling somewhat shy. She really wanted these people to accept her.

Shino scooted over, making room for Ino, who sat down. She pulled out her salad out and began eating as the table was overrun by talking.

"So," Karin began. She had Sasuke's arm around her shoulder. "How do you like the school so far?" Ino shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's pretty cool. I guess," Ino answered, her icy eyes scanned the lunchroom in a bored manner. All the while, those icy blue eyes were dancing. She knew she had them in the palm of her hand.

Karin grinned. "Yea, it's okay." She agreed. Ino smiled. As her eyes finished scanning the room, she met a pair of white eyes. Ino blushed and looked in her lap. Neji smirked.

Tayuya shoved Shino off the bench, sliding over and sitting next to Ino. At first, Ino had been shocked to see another person with pink hair. Sure, it was a darker shade of pink than Sakura's, but it was still pink!

"So, do you think Neji-kun's cute?" Tayuya asked in a voice that was so low that only Ino and Karin could hear. Karin giggled, causing Sasuke to give her a look. She smiled sweetly and Sasuke smirked, turning back to the conversation he was having with Shikamaru.

Ino blushed harder, smiling a bit. "Yea, I guess," She whispered. Tayuya grinned and giggled.

The bell rang. "Hey, Ino-chan! You'll hang with us at the mall after school, right?" Ino looked at Temari, surprised.

"U-um, alright! That'd be cool!" Ino answered. Hinata walked up to her.

"I-Ino-ch-chan? Wh-what's your n-next class?" She stuttered. Ino smiled at the purple-haired Hyuuga.

"I have P.E. next," She answered, heading out of the lunchroom with Hinata at her side. She waved behind her.

"O-oh! S-so do I, c-can I w-walk with y-you?" Ino nodded, letting Hinata lead the way to the gym.

* * *

Please R&R!!!


	2. New Friend?

Yay, I finally finished chapter two! I hope you like it, and yes, there is a bit of SasoSaku in this chapter, and there may be a bit of NejiIno to come.

* * *

**New Friend?**

Sakura groaned as she shuffled her feet, trying to find her way home. Ino had gone to the mall with some of her new friends, so it was up to Sakura to find the house that was her new home.

Sakura finally made it home, only to walk in on a make-out fest. She stood there, shocked, as Inoichi and Ichigo lay on the couch, sucking face.

"EW!!!! GROSS!!!!" Sakura shouted, covering her eyes. "My eyes! My precious virgin eyes!" Sakura stumbled back, hitting the wall.

"They'd better be virgin eyes," Ichigo smirked, climbing off a panting Inoichi. Sakura glared halfheartedly at her mother.

"You know, there's a reason you have your own bedroom," Sakura teased. "It's so we don't have to watch you!" Ichigo rolled her blue eyes.

"Sakura-chan, can you please go to the store and pick up some bread?" Ichigo asked sweetly, sharing a _look _with Inoichi. Sakura shivered, knowing very well why Ichigo was trying to get her out of the house.

"Alright," Sakura escaped the house happily, slamming the door. She ran down the block, before realizing she didn't know where any store was. Cursing her luck, she headed back to her house to ask her mother where to go.

A flash of red hair caught Sakura's green eye. She turned to see a kid she recognized. He was in her history class. "Hey!" she called. He turned.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a bored tone, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there at that moment.

"Yea, do you know where a 7-11 is around here?" Sakura asked, smiling sweetly. The guy nodded, not saying anything more. Sakura waited. "Where is it?" She asked, her annoyance seeping through the sweet-little-girl mask.

The boy smirked, knowing he was getting on her nerves. "I'll show you." Sakura smiled and followed as he began walking. "I'm Sasori, by the way."

"Sakura," Sakura answered, secretly hoping she finally made a new friend. To be honest, she was getting lonely without Ino to hang out with.

Sasori chuckled quietly as he headed to the 7-11 that was a few blocks from his house. He and Sakura talked a bit, and he found her to be quite funny. She was clumsy, yet was always able to laugh at herself. He thought it was cute how she acted like a five-year-old.

They finally made it to the 7-11. Sakura smiled at Sasori.

"Thanks, Sasori-kun!" Sakura said in a cute voice. Sasori smirked.

"Would you like to sit with my friends and me tomorrow at school?" He asked suddenly. Sakura stared, surprised. She nodded before he could think she had gone into shock. She smiled brightly.

"I'd love to!" Sakura cried. Unthinkingly, she glomped Sasori. "Thank you, Sasori-kun!"

Sakura lay in her bed, staring at her ceiling, as Ino walked in. She hopped onto Sakura's bed.

"So, how was your day, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked, her blue eyes dancing. Obviously, she had a nice day.

"Lonely. Until Mom made me go to the store. I'm gonna be sitting with this guy Sasori and his friends tomorrow at school." Ino raised her eyes suggestively.

"Oooo, is he cute?" Ino asked. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I don't know…" A smile played on Sakura's lips as her green eyes shined. Ino giggled. Sakura blushed, giggling along with her best friend.

"Alright, how was your day? Does Temari have any hot guy friends?" Sakura asked, turning the tables. It was Ino's turn to blush.

"Well, there was this one guy. His name's Neji Hyuuga." Ino giggled like a school girl… which she was! Gasp!

"Oooo, has he asked you out yet?" Sakura asked, laughing at Ino's embarrassed face. Ino glared at her, but Sakura couldn't take it seriously with such a red face.

"No! Not yet…" Sakura fake gasped, falling back. She fell off the bed, at which Ino laughed. Sakura quickly hopped back on the bed, rubbing her large forehead.

"Really?! He hasn't fallen victim to your 'charm'?!" Sakura demanded. Ino laughed, pushing her friend off the bed once again. "Alright, I'm going to bed. Night." Sakura waved Ino out the door.

* * *

Yay, second chapter is COMPLETE! ^.^ Sorry it's short, I just needed to get this chapter out! Please R&R!


	3. Deidara kun Has Arrived

Chapter three, WOOT! Hope y'all like it! (Yea, I'm a hillbilly… got a problem wiff it?!)  
**Deidara-kun Has Arrived**

Ino smiled at her reflection. She had decided to wear her hair in two low pigtails. She liked her hair like that. She had put on a washed-out-pink, low cut, skin-tight T-shirt and a pair of short jean shorts.

"Ino-chan~!" Sakura whined. "Hurry up! We're gonna be late and I REALLLY gotta pee!" Ino sighed, smiled once more at her reflection and strutted out of the bathroom. Sakura shoved past her and slammed the door.

Ino giggled. Ichigo walked up to her stepdaughter and hugged her. "You look nice," she observed. "Trying to impress a boy, maybe?"

At the word 'boy', Inoichi was up the stairs and had Ino pressed against his chest in a protective manner.

"Ino-chan is NOT to date ANYONE! All the boys around here are scumbags! Especially those kids in that one gang. What was that gang called again…? Akaliki? No, Aksunitini? No… I can't remember!" Inoichi stated.

Sakura walked out of the bathroom. Her short, pink hair was in two, tiny pigtails and she was wearing pretty much the same kind of clothes as she was wearing the day before, except the shirt was black with white writing and her pants wear torn at the bottom.

Inoichi let go of Ino and embraced Sakura in a royal manner. "Sakura-chan! My sweet, innocent, little Sakura-chan!" Sakura just stood there, frozen with fear.

Ino snickered and pulled poor Sakura out of Inoichi's grasp. Sakura mouthed the words 'thank you' to her best friend.

"We're gonna be late," Ino stated. "Bye!" Ino dragged Sakura down the stairs.

"Sakura!" Ichigo called suddenly. "Don't forget your spending the weekend with your father!" Sakura grimaced as she remembered.

"Great," she muttered under her breath. Ino gave her a look as they began their walk to school. "All weekend with the flat screen blaring football 24/7! What fun," Sakura said, sarcasm dripping on each word.

Ino patted Sakura's shoulder. "It's alright. If it makes you feel any better, I'll be at my mom's this weekend. I'll be babysitting the Terrible Threesome Triplets while my mom's partying all weekend. Oh, joy!" Ino grumbled. "I'd much rather hear your dad scream 'Touchdown!' than hear Yuki scream 'Ino-neechan! Kisa-chan broke whatever!'"

"Ha! Yuki-kun, Kisa-chan, and Kyo-kun are angels when you're not the one watching them!" Sakura snorted. Ino shoved her as they entered the school.

The two girls went to the main office to claim their late passes. Principal Sarutobi was not happy with them. Something about them being late on their second day… Something like that. They weren't really paying attention.

"Glad to see you girls could join us," Kurenai-sensei stated dryly. Sakura and Ino smiled sheepishly.

* * *

Sakura watched as Ino sat at Temari's table again. Sakura sighed; she missed her best friend. It was only the second day, and it already seemed like Temari and Ino were better friends that Sakura and Ino!

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura jumped at the sound of her name. She turned to see the redhead named Sasori. She smiled. "Follow me," he nodded in a random direction and started walking.

After a while, Sakura realized Sasori was leading her to the courtyard. Sakura thought nothing of it and continued to follow him. That is, until he led her to a certain tree, where she could see a certain blob of orange hair…

Sakura gulped as Sasori led her to where the gang called Akatsuki sat.

* * *

Ino grinned as she talked to Karin before her biology class. The bell rang and she bid Karin goodbye and walked into the classroom.

Asuma-sensei pointed to the lab station that would be her permanent seat. She headed to the lab and took her seat. She decided to greet her lab partner, but became tongue-tied.

Her partner was gorgeous. He had the silkiest golden hair she had ever seen. She wanted to run her fingers through it. He had beautiful, cerulean blue eyes, though his left was covered by a thick lock of hair…

"Hello, my name's Deidara, un." He introduced himself, holding out his hand for Ino to shake. Trying to shake the tongue-tied-ness she felt, she shook his hand. Her heart fluttered as he smiled at her. Even his teeth were perfectly white!

Ino couldn't pay attention in class at all. You could almost hear her biology grade drop. All she could do was sneak sideward glances at Deidara all hour, and prayed he was in another one of her classes, but knew he probably wasn't. She still couldn't find it possible that she hadn't noticed him yesterday!

"Yamanaka-san?" Asuma-sensei asked, poking Ino's arm. Ino snapped out of her embarrassing daydreams to see that she was the last one in the class. She blushed as Asuma-sensei kindly handed her a late slip. She thanked him and left.

Ino ran home as fast as she could. She needed to talk to Sakura about this. She just had to.

She burst through the door and up to Sakura's room. She walked in to see Sakura yapping away happily on her cell phone. Sakura stopped talking when she saw Ino. She could tell that Ino needed to talk to her.

"Konan-chan, I gotta go. Talk to you in English tomorrow!" Sakura hung up her phone. Ino plopped on her bed, smirking.

"New friend?" Ino asked, grinning.

"Actually, eight new friends." Sakura answered, her emerald eyes twinkling happily.

"Sakura-chan, if I don't tell you what happened in biology, I'm gonna explode!" Ino cried. Sakura laughed and pretended to shield herself.

"Alright, tell me," she said. Ino started telling her everything about Deidara. Sakura nodded, smiling.

"That's awesome." Sakura exclaimed. She couldn't stop grinning, until Ichigo cried, "Sakura-chan, your father's here!" Sakura groaned, grabbed her bag, and trudged down the stair. She winced when she made it to the main hall.

You could cut the tension with a knife. Ichigo, in the arms of Inoichi, glared at Sakura's father.

"Hi, Dad," Sakura said in a fake cheerful voice. Her father grinned and embraced her. She pushed him within half a second, shuddering. Her mother didn't even reprimand her for showing how she couldn't stand her father. If it were up to Sakura, she would never see her father; it was the custody arrangement

"Bye, Ino-chan!" Sakura called, earning a goodbye from Ino. She reluctantly followed her father to the car.

* * *

Yay, chapter three is COMPLETE! I'm so happy; Dei-Dei-kun came in this chapter! 3 Grr, Ino's gotta back off, Dei-Dei-kun's MINE!

Deidara: I am, un? *gives kawaii confused look*

Me: *nods seriously* Yes, Dei-Dei-kun, you are. *huggles* All mine! *kisses Deidara's cheek lovingly*

Deidara: *blushes* Okay!

Ino: *Gasp* No fair! He's mine!

Me: Only in this story! You're lucky you're one of my favorite characters… *death glares*

Please rate and review! Seriously, I've gotten one review! One! By the way, thank you, bellacullen3, for reviewing! X3 Seriously, I won't update unless I get three more reviews! And, the first three reviewers will get cookies! *Hands cookie to bellacullen3*


	4. Stomach Flu

Chapter four, yay! I'm so happy I've made it this far! I'd like to thank the three people who reviewed to this story! I've already given bellacullen3 her cookie, so the other two reviewers will get their cookies at the end of the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, it would be an Akatsuki manga… so I obviously don't own it.

**Stomach Flu**

Sakura sighed happily as she lay on her bed at her mom's house. She never thought she would miss this house, in Tokyo, so much! She was just glad she didn't have to hear, "Damn ref doesn't know anything about whatever sport!"

"I'm home~!" Sakura heard Ino sing as she slammed the door close. Sakura jumped from her bed and ran down the stair. She hugged a surprised Ino.

"I missed you, Ino-chan!" Sakura cried. Ino laughed. "My dad's house is TORTURE!"

"Yea, well, I almost got KILLED because of the Terrible Threesome Triplets!" Ino complained. "Oh, and Kisa-chan says 'hi'." Sakura grinned.

"Want some ramen?" Sakura asked. She started jumping in place, grinning like mad. "Best thing about going to my dad's house… Total ramen access 24/7!" Ino laughed, trying to calm her stepsister down.

"Let's go get some," Ino agreed. Sakura, still grinning like a madwoman, squealed like the fan girl everyone knows she is and ran to the kitchen, throwing pots-and-pans around the kitchen. "Sakura-chan! I got some fudgesicle pops!" Ino sang, waving a box of popsicles in front of Sakura's face. Her sea-foam eyes followed the box.

"Go fetch!" Ino cried, throwing the box into the living room. Sakura chased it, leaving Ino to clean her mess. "I guess I'm not getting any ramen…"

"Ino-chan, you'd better clean this up," Ichigo said, passing the kitchen. Ino nodded ruefully. She began picking up the pots.

That night, Sakura was thinking about what had happened Friday. She smirked, remembering all of the Akatsuki members' shocked faces when Sasori had introduced them…

***

"Everyone, this is my friend, Sakura-chan," Sasori said in a bored tone, sitting next to a hot blond guy who looked almost like a girl.

They stared at her as she gave a 'peace' sign. She sat down and pulled out some chocolate pocky.

"Aren't you the bitch that wouldn't move from our spot yesterday?" One of the guys, he had almost white hair that was slicked back, asked. Sakura nodded, smiling as a piece of pocky stuck out of her mouth.

She was soon introduced to everyone. It seemed that everyone, except Piercing Guy (whom she now knew as Pein), respected her for sticking up to them. Everyone else at the school was afraid of the Akatsuki.

The whole gang consisted of Pein, Konan (who had blue hair that matched her eyes), Kakuzu (who kinda creeped Sakura out a bit), Hidan (Mr. Dirty Mouth, as Sakura now knew him), Itachi (who was someone named Sasuke's older brother), Kisame (who almost had a bluish tint to his skin), Tobi (who spoke in third person), Sasori (obviously), and Deidara (Mr. Hot Blond).

Sakura had found that the Akatsuki was pretty cool. They laughed at her stupidity, but she just laughed along. She and Konan had much in common, and the only person who didn't like her was Pein. That frustrated her.

***

Sakura jumped out of her bed when she heard a groaning sound come from the bathroom. She ran to see Ino empty her stomach into the toilet. She quickly held Ino's long, blonde hair back as she puked again.

"Mom, Inoichi-san!" Sakura called and waited half a second before they were in the doorway. Inoichi panicked.

"Ino-chan! Oh, I knew you shouldn't have left this weekend! You went to your mother's and now you're SICK! Oh!" Inoichi looked like he was about to cry. Sakura sweat dropped. She was still getting to know Inoichi, and she got the impression he had a very royal, very overreactive personality.

Ichigo bent down and put her hand to Ino's forehead. She flinched. "You're not going to school tomorrow, Ino-chan. You've most likely got the flu." Ino groaned and vomited again.

"I'll take her to the doctor's in the morning," Sakura volunteered. Ichigo smiled gratefully.

"Thanks. I've got a meeting and Inoichi-kun has to go out of town for the next couple of days." Ichigo explained. Sakura nodded.

"Are you finished, Ino-chan?" She asked, wiping the sweat from Ino's forehead. Ino nodded, wiping her mouth. Sakura helped her to her room and tucked her in.

"Knock knock!" Sakura heard someone sing. Sakura sighed.

"Ino-chan, get dressed and come downstairs, okay?" Ino nodded and shut the door behind Sakura. Sakura skipped down the stairs to see Tobi, Sasori, and Deidara in her living room.

"How did you guys get in?" She asked cautiously. She wasn't sure if she wanted an answer.

"I know how to pick a lock," Sasori stated indifferently. Sakura's face was like: O.O

"O-okay… Why are you here?" She asked.

"Tobi, Deidara-sempai, and Sasori-kun came to walk Sakura-chan to school!" Tobi exclaimed happily.

"Oh, I'm not going to school today," Sakura said, sitting on the last step. "I have to take Ino-chan to the doctors."

"Deidara-kun, call Pein and let him know we're skipping today, okay? He'll write us some notes." Deidara nodded, pulling out a cell phone. It made Sakura wonder how many times they had played hooky before…

"Ino-chan! You'd better get your ass down here before I kick it!" Sakura screamed out of the blue. "You don't need to put on make-up; you're going to the doctor's!" Sakura could hear Ino grumble as she made her way down the stairs.

Ino stopped short when she saw who was in her living room. "Oh, yea, Ino-chan, these are some of my friends, Deidara-kun, Sasori-kun, and Tobi-chan!" Sakura stated brightly. Ino blushed as she met Deidara's azure eyes. He stopped in the middle of a sentence and just stared at her.

Sakura smirked. "Come on, Ino-chan! We're gonna be late~!" She sang, dragging Ino out of the house with her friends following.

Yay, chapter four is COMPLETE! Woot! And, Kudomeya and Akuma of Randomness, here are your cookies for reviewing! Yay!

I won't update unless I get three more review, 'Kay? That means, review, review, review! More reviews mean more and longer chapters!

Deidara: Kiku-chan, why do you like reviews so much, un?

Me: 'Cause they're great inspiration! Sometimes, people can give you ideas through reviews, or the reviews just remind you that people DO read your stories! And, that alone is a great feeling!

Deidara: Oh, okay, un! *hugs*


	5. Basketball and Kisses

Chapter five, finally! I love how this story is going… Yay! So, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed :3 And I would like to say that reviews make chapters come quicker! I've wanted to post this chapter for a while, but I didn't get enough reviews to finish the chapter! Grr, I hate writers' block!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, it'd be an Akatsuki manga, so, obviously, I don't own it.

**Basketball and Kisses**

"Ino-chan, I'm going to school!" Sakura shouted down the hall to Ino's room. She jumped down the steps and to the door.

Sakura tried to skip out the door, but fell flat on her face. She cursed her baggy, guy's jeans and hopped up. She sprinted out the door and down the street.

"Sakura-chan, un!" Sakura turned, knowing very well who had called her. She smiled as Deidara jogged up to her.

"Where's Ino-chan, un?" He asked, his bright, blue eyes searching for Sakura's friend. Sakura smirked.

"At home; she'll be out for the rest of the week." Sakura almost grinned as she watched Deidara's face drop. "Aw, don't feel sad, she's gonna want company! I'm going out for basketball, so you can watch her later!" Sakura exclaimed, giggling when Deidara's face turned red.

"Oh, um, uh, okay, un," he stuttered. Sakura could almost see his embarrassment roll off him in waves.

"It's okay, Deidara-kun!" Sakura said reassuringly, smiling kindly. "She likes you, too." With that, Sakura walked away, off to her homeroom.

* * *

Sakura pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. She was now wearing the orange-and-red school basketball uniform; the colors didn't work well with her dark, thick make-up.

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" A blond boy declared, holding his hand out for Sakura to shake. Sakura smiled, shaking his hand.

"I'm Sakura Haruno." Sakura replied. Naruto grinned, placing his hands behind his head.

"Oh, you're one of the new girls!" Naruto chuckled. "So, what are you trying out for? Volleyball or basketball?"

"Basketball, what about you?" Sakura asked, toying with her bangs a bit. She hoped she made the team; she had been the star basketball player at her old school.

"Me too," Naruto chuckled again. "Guys don't play volleyball." He stated. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Guys could play volleyball if they wanted to," she retorted. Naruto gave her a look.

"No, volleyball is only a girl's sport here," Naruto stated slowly. Sakura blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. She felt like an idiot.

"Haruno-san!" Anko, the basketball coach, called. Sakura was grateful for the getaway and jogged over to the coach. Anko threw Sakura the ball.

"Hey, she's pretty good," Naruto heard a voice murmur. He turned to see Sasuke Uchiha wearing a basketball uniform. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Yea," he agreed. "What are you doing here, Uchiha? Don't you have something better to do than annoy the basketball team?

Sasuke gave Naruto his famous Uchiha glare. "I'm trying out for the team," He stated matter-of-factly. Naruto glowered back at the younger Uchiha.

"You think you could make the team?" He snorted. Sasuke shoved Naruto into the wall that was right behind him.

Whistles blew shrilly. "Uchiha!" Ebisu, the boy's coach, shouted. "No fighting!" Ebisu ran over to make sure that Naruto was okay, but a certain brunette beat him to it.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Tenten asked worriedly, placing her hand on his cheek gingerly. He smiled at her, placing his hand over hers. She returned the smile and quickly gave him a kiss.

"Tenten-san, no public displays of affection!" Anko chided lightheartedly. Truth be told, Anko was a sucker for a romance like Naruto and Tenten's.

"Aww~!" Sakura sighed. She, too, was a hopeless romantic.

"Okay, clear out! Nothing to see here!" Ebisu shouted, clapping his hands. Everyone dispersed and finished their tryouts.

Sakura left the gym with the feeling of eyes following her. Those eyes just so happened to belong to Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ino sat at home, eating a bowl of instant chicken ramen. She had ABC Family on the TV, watching What I Like About You. She had magazines spread all around her and was currently flipping through Seventeen.

_Ding dong! _Ino looked up when she heard the doorbell. She groaned and trudged out of bed and down the stairs. She opened the door to see Deidara. Her blue eyes widened.

"H-hi," she stuttered. "U-um, what are y-you doing h-here?" She wanted to slap herself for stuttering.

"Oh, um, Sakura-chan suggested that I keep you company since she's trying out for basketball today, un." Deidara replied. Ino nodded and stepped out of the way, making room for Deidara to enter.

Ino silently cursed herself for not wearing more attractive pajamas. She was wearing ratty, navy blue sweats and a wrinkled blue tank top.

"Alright, well, do you want something to eat?" Ino offered, gesturing to the kitchen. Deidara grinned, seeming more at ease, and followed Ino into the kitchen. "You can have anything you want," Deidara nodded. He made his way over to a cupboard and began looking for instant ramen.

Ino hopped up and sat on the island, kicking her legs back and forth. She smiled, mentally reminding herself to thank Sakura later.

Deidara made himself the instant ramen and stood next to Ino as he waited for it to cook. The silence was starting to eat at Ino's nerves.

Obviously, it was bothering Deidara too, because he broke the silence. "So, Ino-chan, um, Sakura told me something earlier, and I was wondering if it was true, un." Deidara began, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

Ino froze, but couldn't help but smile at Deidara's nervousness. "Um, alright. What did she tell you?"

"That you like me, un," Deidara's words were so soft that Ino could barely hear them. Her heart stopped. She was going to kill Sakura when she got home.

"O-oh," Ino whispered, not knowing what to say. What was wrong with her? Usually, when something like this happened, she could be herself and be bubbly and cute and state that she did indeed like them. But, Deidara was different.

"Um, yea, I do," Ino admitted, the blush refusing to leave her cheeks. Deidara turned to her, looking into her eyes and she tucked her hair behind her ear. He placed his lips over hers.

* * *

Okay, I can't write anymore! Gah, I love this chapter! :D It had quite a bit of DeiIno! Yay! And, I added NaruTen! Ah, I had never thought much of this couple before, but I thought it'd be perfect!

Okay, I've been thinking about changing something in this story. I'm having a hard time making this story PeinSaku, so I'm gonna change it. But, only if you, my readers, wish. I'm going to make a poll with these choices for a Sakura pairing:

SasoSaku

ItaSaku

SasuSaku (This is a last measure resort. I hate this couple. DX)

PeinSaku

Or

TobiSaku

Your choice! Poll will be up for three days, so vote, vote, vote! And, review, review, review! Remember, reviews mean updates! :D


	6. Pein Got Dumped

The votes are in and PeinSaku wins! Yay! Okay, so, I'm going to focus more on adding PeinSaku to this story, alright? There will still be cute DeiIno X3, but I'm really going to make PeinSaku happen.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, it'd be an Akatsuki manga… So, obviously, I don't own it.

**Pein Got Dumped**

Ino's icy blue eyes fluttered open the next day. She smiled, memories of yesterday flooding back to her. Nothing "bad" happened, but it was still the best night of her life. She and Deidara talked for hours on end… Well, a few of those hours may have been make-out sessions, but still! She was officially his girlfriend!

Ino groaned when she realized she couldn't go back to school. At least, not until next Monday. She flopped back on her bed, closing her eyes.

"Ino-chan?" Sakura asked, poking her head into Ino's bedroom. Ino opened her eyes.

"Yea, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked, sitting back up. Sakura came and sat on her bed.

"How was last night?" Sakura wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Ino pushed Sakura playfully.

"Nothing like that!" Ino stated. Sakura raised a pink eyebrow, confused. "We just talked… Kissed… and I'm now his girlfriend…" Ino added quietly like. Before half a heartbeat had passed, Inoichi was in his daughter's room.

"You're _whose _girlfriend?!" He demanded, holding his daughter's head to his chest. "You know you're not allowed to date until you're thirty! And, no sexes until you're eighty!" Ino pushed her father away, blushing at the mention of sex.

"Dad! It's not like that, and, he's really sweet! You'd like him!" Ino insisted. Inoichi frowned.

"Well, if you say so… He's coming over for dinner tonight!" Inoichi announced. He stood up to leave.

"What?! Dad, no! You can't just decide he's coming over at random!" Ino shouted. Inoichi ignored her, calling to his wife, "Ichigo-chan! We're going to have a dinner guest tonight!"

Ino groaned, falling back on her bed. She hit her head on the wooden bedpan. "Ow!" Sakura laughed.

"I wish I could see this!" Ino gave her a quizzical look. "I have basketball call-backs today." Sakura patted her knee. "Well, I gotta go. Bye!"

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Konan shouted, running over to her. "Have you seen Pein-kun today?" Sakura thought about it, trying to remember if she had seen his mop of orange hair. She shook her head.

"Sorry, no," She answered. Konan sighed. She leaned against a locker, running her hand threw her striking blue hair.

"No one's seen him all week! We're afraid something's happened to him." Konan stated, closing her eyes. Sakura started feeling a little worried. Yea, Pein was a jerk who got on her nerves, but he was a friend of her friends.

"I'll help look, if you want," She offered uncertainly. Konan jumped up, grinning.

"You will?!" Konan asked. "Thank you! But, uh, you're gonna have to cut." Sakura shrugged and followed Konan out the door. "You go that way, okay?" Konan pointed west. Sakura nodded and began walking.

Sakura made it to the park about three blocks away when she saw a flash of orange. She turned to see you-know-who sitting under a tree. She walked over to him slowly. Once he noticed her, he glared, but didn't move.

Sakura sat next to him and crossed her legs. She stared at him curiously, but didn't say anything. Pein looked at her weirdly, but she just continued to stare at him, her green eyes big and innocent. He sighed.

"What do you want?!" He demanded. Sakura smiled a bit.

"Everyone's been worried about you," She said softly. "You okay?" Pein looked away.

"I'm fine," He growled. Sakura gave him an I'm-not believing-that-crap look, even though he didn't see it.

"Are you sure? You've missed a couple days of school and have been avoiding your friends." Sakura said, trying to sound nice. "And me." She tacked on.

Pein sighed, turning back to her. He closed his eyes, seeming ashamed. "I got dumped." He stated simply.

"Oh," Sakura whispered. She knew how crappy that felt. When it had happened to her, she had skipped quite a bit of school, too. Her mom had gone ballistic. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity!" Pein shouted. Sakura winced.

"So…" Sakura suddenly felt awkward. "I think I should tell Konan-chan I found you." She pulled out her phone, but Pein took it from her.

"No! Don't call her," He said threateningly. Sakura got wide-eyed when she realized why he didn't want her to call Konan.

"_Oh_," She said, more to herself than anyone else.

"Yea," He sighed, looking away. Sakura settled herself next to him and stared off into space. They just sat there like that for a while. Neither person knew how long, but it felt like a few hours.

It began to get dark, so, obviously it had gotten late. Sakura's phone exploded, and she answered.

"Sakura-chan!" Ino whined at the other end. She sounded like she was in tears. "I need you!" Sakura jumped up.

"I'm on my way!" Sakura said. She mentally cursed when she remembered she blew off the basketball call-backs.

"Is everything all right?" Pein asked, sounding as if she didn't care.

"I don't know, but I gotta go!" With that, Sakura was gone.

* * *

I'm sorry it's so short! I wanna try to make my chapters longer, but I really just needed to figure out what's gonna happen in the next chapter.

Yea, so, PeinSaku is on the way! You just gotta be paitent, their relationship needs to progress! So, anyone wondering why Ino was crying? Well, I know! XD Let's just say… Inoichi messed a few things up… *giggle*

Deidara: Kiku-chan, what did you do, un?

Me: *squeals* I love how he says my name! *glomps* … Yea, I'm a bit of a fangirl… Hehehe… *dodges kunai thrown by hopeless Deidara fangirls*

Remember, review, review, review!


	7. Dinner Disaster

Sorry it took so long for me to update, I had a massive case of writer's block! Thanks to my cousin who helped! Love the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, it'd be an Akatsuki manga… so, obviously, I don't own it.

**Dinner Disaster**

Sakura burst threw the door to find it oddly silent. It had been so loud when she spoke to Ino over the phone.

"Ino-chan?" She called, walking into the living room. She saw a tense Inoichi, a fretting Ichigo, and she saw Ino with tears sliding silently down her cheek.

"Ino-chan, tell me what happened." Sakura cried, sitting next to her. Her best-friend-genes kicked in, and she knew Ino needed to talk.

Ino opened her mouth, hiccupped, and began the tale.

***

Ino was up in her room, finishing putting on her make-up when the doorbell rang. She was out her door and down the steps instantly, calling, "I'll get it!"

Inoichi beat her to it, opening the door. He smiled kindly at Deidara. Deidara was wearing a white, button-up shirt that was messily buttoned. He had a black jacket and black pants, too.

"You must be Deidara-san!" Inoichi sang. Deidara nodded, scratching the back of his head. Ino squeezed past her father and smiled warmly.

"Hi, Deidara-kun~!" She hugged him quickly. He blushed and thrust a bouquet of flowers at her. She took them, inhaling deeply. "Thanks! They're so pretty! I'll go get some water for them!" Ino skipped away and set the flowers in a vase.

"Come, come, sit, sit," Ichigo cried, ushering everyone to the dining room. Everyone took a seat.

On the table sat an array of food that must have taken Ichigo all day to cook. Curry, gyoza, shumai, various types of sushi, onigiri, miso soup, and a hot apple pie.

"Mmm, this all looks so good," Ino said, grinning sheepishly. Her eyes flitted to Deidara and he nodded in agreement as they all sat down around the table.

"Why, thank you, dears," Ichigo said pleasantly, beginning to serve everyone. "Itadakimasu."

Inoichi cleared his throat and spoke. "So, Deidara, let's start the interro—erm, interview."

Deidara looked up at Inoichi, and for a moment he looked almost skeptical. But then his expression changed and he said, "Sure. What do you want to know, hmmm?"

"What's your grade point average?" Inoichi asked quickly. He stared at Deidara as if daring him to lie.

"Uh, 3.09, un," Deidara said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Alright," Inoichi said, narrowing his eyes and getting ready for the next question. "How many girlfriends have you had before now?"

Ino sighed loudly and grumbled a little.

Deidara turned bright red. "Well, thirt—ow!" He looked at Ino who had just kicked him under the table. "None, hmmm," he continued, not looking Inoichi in the eyes.

"You don't say?" Inoichi asked, but shook his head and asked, "What are your friends like?"

Deidara's face suddenly turned brighter. "Oh—well, this one time we spray-painted this building, and it was so awesome, because it said, 'We are the Akatsuki', un!" After he said this his eyes widened and he turned pale.

"What do you mean, 'we are the Akatsuki?!'" Inoichi shouted in rage, fire in his eyes. Deidara stuttered to explain, but no one was listening. Ichigo gasped as her hand flew up to her chest, Inoichi stood up and threw a handful of food at Deidara, and Ino's eyes were glazed over in shock and she looked like she was about to cry. "Get out!" Inoichi screamed angrily, throwing more food in Deidara's face. Deidara scrambled to his feet and started backing out of the kitchen. "Get out! And if you ever talk to—or think about—my daughter again, there will be consequences!!"

Deidara dashed out the door without another word to Ino. Inoichi threw a chair at the closed door and Ino burst into tears and reached for her phone.

* * *

Yay! New chapter! Chapters may come in slowly, sorry about that, but chapters will continue to be posted!

Review, review, review!


	8. Phone Call

Thanks to my cousin, The Imagination Station, who helped with the last chapter, I've been able to write more! Yay!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be an Akatsuki manga… So, obviously, I don't own it.

**Phone Call**

"Sakura-chan!" Konan called, running over to her locker. Sakura looked up from the book she was reading. "Pein-kun's back in school today! He told Itachi-kun and Kisame-kun that you convinced him to come. What did you say?"

Sakura was surprised. She hadn't said much of anything to Pein when she had found him.

"Oh! Um, I don't know. I didn't really say anything." She answered. Konan shrugged, not caring much about the details.

"Yea, well, did he tell you why he skipped for so long?" Konan asked. Sakura thought hard about whether or not she should tell her what Pein had said.

"Didn't he tell you?" She asked, trying to dodge the question. Konan looked down, a shadow covering her bright blue eyes. She leaned against Ino's closed locker.

"No," She muttered. She ran a hand through her striking blue hair, tugging on it. "He won't talk to me. Suppose I deserve it though." She seemed to be talking more to herself than Sakura.

Sakura didn't know what to do. Sure, she had comforted Ino in break-ups before, but Ino is a very different person than Konan is.

"U-um, I'm sorry," Sakura mumbled, patting Konan's shoulder. She shook Sakura's hand off her shoulder.

"It doesn't matter," She shook her head, as if she was shaking the memory away. "Well, I gotta go, so, I'll see you at lunch, 'Kay?" Sakura nodded as Konan ran off.

Sakura shut her locker and headed for the gym for two reasons. One, she had class. Two, she had to beg for another chance at callbacks.

* * *

To say Ino was angry was an understatement. She was furious.

Who did her father think he was? How could he yell at Deidara, Ino's boyfriend, and tell him he couldn't see her?

Ino pulled out her phone.

**Saku,**

**Please talk to Deidara for me. Give him my # and tell him to call. Please!**

**Luv ya!**

**Ino**

She pressed SEND.

* * *

"No," Asuma stated without looking up from his deskwork.

"Please! You know I can do this, I just had family trouble! Please, Sensei? Pretty please with sugar on top?!" Sakura begged.

Asuma looked like he was almost considering it. That is, until her phone exploded in her pocket, bells ringing and her phone vibrating.

Sakura's jade eyes widened, silently cursing her phone. She pulled it out, reading the text.

"No," he repeated, turning away from her and back to his work.

Sakura sighed. "Please?!" She whined, stamping her foot.

"I said, 'NOOO!!!'" Asuma yelled, his voice booming and echoing in the gym. "Now, OUT OF MY GYM!" Sakura scurried out of the gym without another word.

She decided to go find Deidara since she was kicked out of gym class. She had nowhere to go for an hour.

She found him in a history class taught by Kakashi Hatake. Deidara looked depressed.

Sakura dug in her pockets 'til she found a piece of paper. She didn't a pencil or pen. Crap.

An idea struck her and she ran off to her locker. She pulled out her eyeliner and used it to write her note. She was brilliant, I mean, eyeliner is just like a black, chalky pencil!

Sakura ran back to Kakashi's history class. She folded the note carefully and knocked on the door and walked in without an invitation.

She smiled at Kakashi and made her way to his desk, passing Deidara's desk in the process. Sakura dropped the note on his desk discretely.

"Kakashi-sensei, Principal Sarutobi wishes to speak to you!" She said in a very loud voice. Louder than she needed to be.

"Sensei, may I use the restroom, please, un?" Deidara asked after he had read the note. Kakashi nodded as he left the room.

Sakura smirked as the class ran amuck she headed back to her locker to finish some homework she hadn't felt like doing last night.

* * *

Deidara hig in a stall as he dialed his phone. He held it to his ear as it rang. He tapped his foot nervously, not knowing what he was going to say. I mean, what was there to say? He father freaked out on him and told him to never even think of Ino again.

"Hello?" Ino's voice asked as she answered her cell phone. He smiled at the sound of her voice.

"Hey, Ino-chan, un," Deidara said, keeping his voice low.

"You called!" she exclaimed. Deidara smiled, she sounded really happy.

"Yea, Sakura-san told me to. And, I missed you, un." Deidara didn't really know what to say.

"Yea, I asked her to. I wanted to talk to you." She stated.

"Oh, hmmm?" He asked, not really surprised. It made sense.

"I really like you and I still want to see you!" Ino blurted out. She spoke really fast, as if to say what she wanted to say and get it over with.

This took Deidara by surprise. "You do, un?" He asked incredulously. "But, your dad---"

"I don't care what he says!" Ino interrupted. "I still want to date you. Plain and simple." She waited for an answer.

"Good, un," Deidara said, grinning. "'Cause I wanna date you, too, un."

* * *

Okay, there you go! Chapter 8! Chapter 9 will be up really soon, but may be shorter. I have it all written out and just need to type it up.

By the way, I have a poll up! Please, please, please look at it and vote, because, you, my readers, must help me decide! The poll will be for three days, so hurry!

And, remember, REVIEW!!! :D


	9. Grounded

* * *

Thanks for the reviews! Those are what made me hurry and update! I will try to update at least one more time before the 8th of September, but I can't make any promises.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, it'd be an Akatsuki manga… So, obviously, I don't own it.

**Grounded**

Deidara leaned down to kiss Ino. Ino wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. She was enjoying the kiss. Big time.

"Where is that girl?" They jumped apart when they heard Inoichi shout. Ino pushed Deidara into a bush.

"I had a great time," She stage-whispered. Their date had been somewhat creative, given the circumstances of Ino not being able to leave for very long. They had had a picnic in Ino's backyard. She had told her father that she was going to the library and had begged Inoichi to let her go.

She ran around to the front yard and opened the door to see her father pacing back and forth. He stopped in mid-pace when he saw her.

"Where have you been?!" He demanded, staring her down. "You told me you would be back from the library TWO hours ago!" His voice was booming, echoing throughout the house.

"Yea, well, I can explain that!" Ino said, coming up with an excuse. "You see, I stopped by a pie shop on the way home. Yea, and I thought to myself, 'I should give this pie to some orphans' that's what I thought. So, I went to the orphanage, but there were no orphans there! So, on my epic search for the orphans, a shark popped out and ate the pie!"

"We live 15 miles from the ocean." Inoichi stated, not believing anything his daughter was saying. Ino blushed, caught in her lie. But, she continued, nevertheless.

"I know! I was all 'What's a shark doing in **Tokyo**?!' But then, when the shark was gone, I found the orphans and---"

"Up to your room. Now," Inoichi stated. Ino's blue eyes widened. She had never seen her dad so… so… **serious**.

She nodded and headed up to her room.

* * *

"Nice, Deidara-kun," Sakura said as she approached her friends- and Pein- at lunch time.

"What, un?" He asked cluelessly.

"Yea, what did Sempai do now?" Tobi asked innocently.

"You got Ino-chan grounded for two weeks!" Sakura slapped the back of his head.

Hidan chuckled. Sakura walked up to him and smack him upside the head, too. Konan snickered. Sakura was shocked to her Pein chuckle. She guessed he was warming up to her.

* * *

Okay, I know this chapter is super-short, but I needed to tell you all to vote in my poll! I extended it one more day, 'cause NO ONE has voted yet! So, please vote and review!

I promise, the chapters will be long! Chapter 10 will be super-long if I get enough reviews! ;p


	10. Deal

Chapter 10 is up! Yay! BTW, I have a new poll up; it's to choose what story I should write, so VOTE! You have until Wednesday at the latest, so vote soon! I will take the poll down whenever I see fit.

**Deal**

"This sucks!" Ino cried, flopping onto her bed. "I'm finally allowed out of the house and I'm grounded!" Yes, today was Ino's last day of quarantine.

"Should've thought of a better excuse than orphans and pie." Sakura said absently as she concentrated on her phone. She giggled.

"How are you talking to?" Ino asked, peering over her best friend's shoulder. "Pein?!" Ino almost fell off her bed when she saw Pein's name on the text message.

Sakura nodded, replying to the text. "He's been nicer to me lately. He's almost an actual friend." Her fingers flew over her full-keyboard phone.

"I'm glad at least _your _life is going well." Ino sighed, being overdramatic.

"Yea, well, at least you'll be able to see Deidara-kun in school tomorrow." Sakura said, only half-listening to Ino.

"Yea, you're right!" Ino brightened at Sakura's comment. Ino began gabbing away about random things, not even caring that Sakura wasn't paying attention.

* * *

Ino was ecstatic to be back in school. She ran up to Temari in the hall at the first chance she could.

"Get away from me." Temari said, shoving Ino away from her. Ino just stood there, hurt. Why would Temari treat her like that? Weren't they friends?

"Loser," Karin said to Ino as she walked up to Temari. Both girls walked away from Ino.

Ino sulked as she pulled out a few books from her locker. She was very upset about the fact that her friends weren't speaking to her anymore.

"Ino-chan, what's wrong?" Sakura asked as she approached her own locker.

"Temari and Karin are ignoring me." Ino stated bluntly. Sakura hugged her.

"If you wanna, you can sit with me and my friends at lunch." Sakura offered, trying to help.

"Do you think I would fit in?" Ino asked hopefully. Sakura, eyeing her outfit that consisted of mostly yellow and pink colors, shook he head.

"Not at all." Sakura stated bluntly. "But, that doesn't mean you can't sit with us." Ino grinned and gave Sakura a hug.

"Thanks!" Sakura-chan!" They headed off to class.

Sakura sat down next to Sasori in History. He smiled at her, well, kind of. She did the 'peace' sign.

"Hey, do you mind if Ino-chan sits with us at lunch?" She asked, tapping her pencil on her desk.

"Why would she want to sit with us?" He asked, confused.

"Her friend won't talk to her." She answered as the teacher walked into the room.

"Sure," Sasori whispered as class began.

Sakura was paying attention in class, that is, until she heard Temari and Karin talking about Ino.

"Excuse me?" She demanded, glaring at the girls. "_What _did you say?" Her voice rose with each word.

"Sakura-san, please take your seat." The teacher spoke in a calm voice, trying to keep the class under control.

"NO!" Sakura shouted at the teacher. 'They can't just talk about my sister like that!"

"Sakura," The teacher said in a low, firm voice. "Office. Now." Sakura gathered her things and went to leave. But, as she was passing by Temari's desk, she could help but slapping her upside the head. She just couldn't help it.

"I'm going, I'm going," Sakura said when she saw the look her teacher gave her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ino was bored out of her mind in study hall. During her quarantine, she had done all her homework and was not behind in the least.

"Hello," Ino turned to see Sasuke. She smiled at him.

"Hey,"

"So, I heard about your… 'situation.'" Sasuke began. He seemed like he didn't know what he wanted to say.

"What situation?" Ino asked cautiously.

"Your situation with Deidara-san and your parents." Ino raised one fine, blonde eyebrow.

"And your point is?"

"I scratch your back, you scratch mine." Sasuke stated, leaning closer to Ino.

"Go on…"

* * *

"It's so simple, Dei!" Ino cried, talking to Deidara in art class later that day.

"Explain once again, please, un." Deidara requested.

"Okay, so, I tell my parents that I'm dating Sasuke, right? And I tell my parents that I'm going on dates with him when I'm really going out with you!" Ino said, grinning like mad.

"Okay, I get that, un. But, what does Sasuke get out of this, hmmm?" Deidara asked, still thoroughly confused.

"I just have to help him get close to Sakura-chan! He has a crush on her, isn't that cute? Oh, she's gonna love him~!" Ino exclaimed with a dreamy look on her face.

"Ino-chan, please don't go all matchmaker on Sakura." Deidara said, almost afraid of her reply.

"Honey," Ino placed her hand on top of his. "Don't worry, things will work out fine! I promise."

Deidara didn't seem so sure.

* * *

Okay, that's a wrap! I originally had a little extra I was gonna let you guys read, but I figure this chapter is an okay length and I don't really feel like typing it up right now.

Ino: You're so lazy, Kiku-chan.

Me: -sticks tongue out at her- Whatever! Just remember to review and vote in my poll!


	11. Spirited Away

Hi guys... I'm back with this story. Yea, I think it's time for explanation time. You see, I really didn't think I could write any more of this story. I did. But, I reread the story, realized I had achieved 51 reviews with this story, and kinda got sparked back into wanting to continue the story.

* * *

So, I'm going to try to continue this story. The chapters may come out slowly, but I promise, they WILL come out. I hope you guys don't hate me.

The next day at school, things sort of seemed normal. Ino hung out with Sakura and the Akatsuki, mostly talking with Deidara, Karin and Temari still wouldn't speak to Ino, and no one knew why, but Hinata and Tayuya were talking to her again.

The weird thing was, when lunch came around, Sasuke was sitting with Ino, Sakura, and the Akatsuki. Sakura quickly put together that Itachi and Sasuke were brothers, and didn't get along very well. Sasuke just kinda sat there between Ino and Sakura, eating quietly while everyone talked.

"Why are you here?" Hidan, easily the rudest member of the Akatsuki demanded about halfway through lunch. Sasuke looked up, startled by Hidan's bluntness. He swallowed the chip that was in his mouth and glanced at Ino, not knowing what to say.

"He and I are friends now, so I invited him to sit with us." Ino spoke up quickly, sifting through Sakura's backpack for more food. Though she was tiny, Ino sure ate like a pig. "Damn, Sakura-chan! You don't eat anything but pocky, do you?" Sakura shook her head, pulling a piece of strawberry pocky out of her mouth.

"I eat ramen, too." Pein snorted and Sakura threw a book at his head. He picked it up, raising a pierced eyebrow. He showed everyone else the book she had thrown.

"Really, Saku? _Fruits Basket_?" He asked, flipping through the book quickly. Sakura blushed, snatching the book back from him. She didn't even take notice that Pein had called her Saku, rather than Sakura or Sakura-chan. She stuffed it back in her backpack.

"I have nothing else to read, okay?" She shouted, and everyone laughed at her. She tugged her hat over her eyes, still blushing. Was it really her fault that with Ichigo and Ino in her life, she was a hopeless romantic?

Ino glared at everyone laughing at her best friend. "Fruits Basket is, like, the best manga ever!" Konan, Kisame, and Hidan laughed harder while Deidara tried to control his chuckles. Sasuke smiled, glancing "discretely" at Sakura's still red face. Itachi raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

* * *

"He seems like such a nice boy." Ichigo sighed after Sasuke left the house from the "Ino's Boyfriend Interview Dinner". He totally aced it.

Ino explained to Sakura half of her deal with Sasuke. She refused to tell Sakura what was in it for him.

"He's totally trying to steal you from Deidara," Sakura sang, skipping back to her room. Ino rolled her sky-blue eyes. _Let her think what she wants. As long as she doesn't suspect my playing Cupid._ She pulled out her phone, pressed one, and waited 'til Deidara picked up the phone.

"Hello, un?" Ino grinned when her real boyfriend answered. She loved the sound of his voice.

"Hey, phase one is complete!" Ino exclaimed in a loud whisper. Deidara chuckled on the other line.

"I wasn't aware there were phases in this plan, un." He said softly. Ino rolled her eyes again, smiling softly.

"I just mean, my dad is convinced that Sasuke will be 'a good influence' on me and is lifting my grounding early so 'the process can begin'." She giggled at her dad's logic. It was just very convenient for her. Deidara grumbled on his line. "What did you say?"

"I just don't think it's right to be lying to your parents like this, hm." Deidara repeated, but still spoke softly. Ino pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it incredulously.

"This coming from the guy who didn't think twice about telling adults about how he and his friends _vandalized_ a building-" Deidara cut her off.

"At least I was honest then!" Ino was surprised to not hear a 'hm' or 'un' at the end of his sentence.

"Whatever. Do you want to date me or not?" She hissed. Deidara scoffed.

"Of course I want to date you, un! But, I just don't like you lying to your parents. I may be a delinquent but you surely are not, hm!" He shot back.

"You know what. Whatever. Bye." She hung up without waiting for an answer. She looked up to see Sakura standing in her doorway, looking sympathetic.

"Spirited Away?" Sakura asked. Ino nodded. Whenever one of them got in a fight in a relationship, they pulled out Spirited Away. That tradition started way back when they were thirteen.

The two spent the rest of the night watching the movie.

* * *

The next day, Ino ate lunch with Hinata and skipped Biology, doing whatever she could to avoid Deidara. She had no idea what to say to him. She didn't really think there was anything to say. He said he wanted to date her, but he didn't want her to lie about it. He obviously didn't want to date her enough.

Meanwhile, Sakura confronted Sasuke, suspecting that he had something to do with Ino and Deidara's fight. She found him leaving Jiryaya's writing class.

"Yo! Duck-Butt!" Sakura called down the bust hallway, getting a few looks, but, funnily enough, Sasuke turned around, meeting her gaze. For the first time, Sakura was shocked by how handsome Sasuke was. She shook her head. "I need to ask you something."

He nodded, smirking a little. He thought he knew what she was gonna say. "Sure. What's up?"

"Why are you fake-dating Ino?" By the look on his face, that was not what he was expecting her to say.

"Oh, um," Sasuke stuttered, suddenly not sure what to say. "She didn't tell you?" Sakura snorted, amused by his nervousness. He didn't seem like the kind to get nervous.

"Obviously not, or I wouldn't be asking you." Sakura smirked at him, crossing her arms. He searched for something to say.

"Well, um, she needed help and I was just trying to be and and well-" Sakura held up a hand, a thoughtful look on her face. No one could really tell, but all the pieces on the puzzle were lining up nicely in her head.

Why he was being to nice to her. Why he was all flustered when she tried talking to him. Why he was so eager to help Ino out. Why Ino wouldn't tell her anything about it.

Sasuke liked her.

* * *

I hope you guys like this! I have a question for you. Would you like to see Deidara and Ino make up or see Sasuke and Ino get together? Let me know in your review! :)


	12. The Fight

Next chapter! Whoo! I'm really having fun writing this story again. I'm glad I continued. Anyway, the question still poses. Do you wanna see Ino and

Deidara make up or break up?

Itachi: Just get on with the story, Kiku.

…

* * *

"So, are we going on another 'date' tonight?" Sasuke asked, approaching Ino in the busy hallway. Ino shook her head, her ponytail swaying. She pushed her bang out of her eye, tucking it behind her ear, and sighed.

"We're not even talking right now." Sasuke looked kind of worried. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's too bad." He sighed. "Well, let me know." He ducked into a classroom. Ino headed to her locker. She opened it, a note falling on her face. She unfolded it.

_Ino,_

_This is really troublesome to write. But, I guess I will, since I've already started. I like you. I know your dating that Deidara guy, but I just thought you should know. That's all, I guess._

_Shikamaru._

Ino was, to put it frankly, shocked. She had barely ever spoken to Shikamaru, and she thought he was in a relationship with Temari. Was this why Temari and Karin didn't talk to her anymore? Had they found out Shikamaru liked Ino?

Ino shook her head, clearing her thoughts. That was stupid. Temari and Karin had stopped talking to Ino two weeks ago.

"Whatever," she muttered, folding the note back up and tucking it between two books. She'd have to try to talk to Shikamaru later.

"Ino!" Said girl turned around to see her pink haired best friend jogging toward her. "Why didn't you tell me Sasuke liked me?"

_How did she find out? Did Sasuke squeal? Crap, she's gonna kill me!_ "Oh, um, he does?" Ino asked nervously. Sakura gave her a look.

"You're not going to start talking about orphans and pie, are you?" Sakura asked sarcastically. She, of course, was referring to Ino's horrible lying skills. Ino turned pink.

"No! It's just-"

"How could you lie to me? I thought we were best friends and told each other everything. I was planning on telling you tonight that I think I might like Pein, but you wouldn't even tell me that someone liked me?" Sakura shook her head and began walking away. "Whatever." She disappeared in the mass of people in the hallway.

Ino leaned her head against her locker. Did the world just love to ruin her life? Was that it?

* * *

Sakura was fuming and didn't know what to do. Some best friend Ino was. Sakura rubbed her wet eyes. Before she knew it, she was out the front door.

By the time Sakura stopped walking, she was at the park. The same park she had found Pein in. Sakura laughed dryly. She then sat under a tree, just wanting to think. She pulled her hat over her eyes, blocking out the light.

She didn't realize she had drifted off to sleep until she felt herself get shaken awake. Her hat fell off, allowing Sakura to see that it was Sasori shaking her.

"Wha-?" She mumbled, groggy from sleep. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get used to the all too bright sun. "Sasori-kun?"

"What are you doing here? You're not usually one to ditch." Sasori said, looking her pointedly in the eye. She sighed.

"I got in a fight with Ino and needed to blow off some steam." She shrugged. He looked at her sympatheticly.

"If you need a place to crash, you can stay with me, Konan, and Pein." He said. She looked at him strangely. "Well, Ino's your stepsister, right? So, if you don't wanna see her, you can come by our house. It's kinda the place everyone in the gang hangs out when they don't wanna go home."

"Why do you, Konan, and Pein share it?" Sakura asked, tugging on a piece of her hair absentmindedly.

"None of us had a home to go to, so we decided to share." Sakura sort of smiled at him.

"Thanks for the offer," she said, giving him a hug. "I might just take you up on that."

* * *

So, that's all for this chapter! Sakura and Ino had their very first "big" fight, and Shikamaru likes Ino. I don't even know why I put that in, but I'll find a way to not make that totally pointless. I know the chapter's short, but I don't know what else to do until you answer the big question! Should Ino and Deidara to make up or break up! Also, vote in my poll, okay? :)


	13. Together At Last

!

It was another quiet day in the house. Sakura and Ino both were being driven crazy by the silence, but neither of them would crack and talk to the other. Sakura was still pissed that Ino lied to her and Ino was upset that Sakura couldn't see how she had been trying to help.

Ino was far more upset, though. The best relationship she had ever had was over, her best friend/step sister wouldn't speak to her, and her friend liked her. She didn't know what to do.

Ino walked into school, alone, once again. Sakura had gotten a ride with one of her friends. Ino sighed, walking to her pink locker. She opened it up when Shikamaru walked over to her. She noticed a small blush on his cheeks. For a second, she couldn't think of why he would be blushing; then she remembered.

"Hi," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. She smiled; at least someone was talking to her. She grabbed her book out of the locker and closed it.

"Hey," she said quietly, not really knowing why. "U-um, thanks for the note." As soon as she said it, she wanted to take it back. Inwardly, she slapped herself. What could have made her say that?

"Oh, yea," he muttered, his blush growing. "So, do you wanna go out sometime?" Ino was slightly surprised by the question. Did she want to go out with Shikamaru? What about Deidara?

_Well,_ she thought, _Dei certainly doesn't want to date me enough to sneak around, so..._

"Sure, why not?" She answered brightly. Shikamaru looked up from his shoes in shock. Was it that big of a surprise that she said yes? "Call me sometime, okay?"

"Give it back!" Sakura cried, reaching over Hidan's head for the newest copy of Hetalia. Hidan laughed, falling over as Sakura lunged. She grabbed the book from his hands and posed. Sasori and Tobi were the only other there at the moment, and they did their best to ignore the two.

"What are you doing?" Sakura looked up to see Konan and Deidara. Pein was walking up behind them. Sakura blushed, dropping her pose.

"Nothing," she sang, sitting back down. Pein walked over, sitting between her and Hidan.

Everyone began chatting idly like they usually did. Sakura promptly pulled out a new box of pocky, eat a piece. Konan quickly pulled her into a conversation about the newest pop-rock band.

Lunch was over quickly and everyone was getting ready to leave. Sakura picked up her backpack then realized Pein wasn't heading back to the school. She jogged up to where he was.

"Hey, where are you going?" She asked, matching his pace. He glanced down at her and smirked. She raised a pink eyebrow. "Well,"

"Dunno, just didn't want to go to my afternoon classes." He answered. "So, are you gonna ditch too?" Sakura thought about it.

"Eh, why not?" She certainly didn't expect them to go back to his, Sasori's, and Konan's house. Or anything else that would occur there.

Ino was sitting on her bed, doing her homework when he called. Inoichi stormed into her room, tapping his foot expectantly. She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. What had she done this time?

"Ino, that Deidara boy is on the phone." Her father said in a scary calm voice. Ino's blonde eyebrows furrowed. Why would Deidara call the house phone? If he wanted to talk to her, he should have called her cell."Ino, do you know why he is on the phone?" Her father asked, the calm in his voice breaking ever-so-slightly.

Ino shook her head, deciding it would be best to stay quiet. Inoichi took a deep breath.

"He was begging me to give permission to date you." Ino gasped slightly, then instantly felt guilty for having said 'yes' to Shikamaru when Deidara still wanted to be with her. "I told him yes." Inoichi continued quietly. His daughter looked at him incredulously.

"Really?" She asked, afraid to get her hopes up. He nodded, hanging up the phone and setting it on Ino's bed.

"I could tell you didn't really like that Sasuke boy, and I guess the only reason you went out with him was because I wouldn't let you date that Deidara. I'd rather you be happy than me." Ino couldn't help but grin. She launched herself into her dad's arms, squealing. Inoichi couldn't help but smile at how happy Ino was.

Sakura burst through the door, thoroughly ruining the father/daughter moment.

"Ino, I really need to talk with you!" Sakura shouted. Ino stepped away from her father, still grinning.

"I'll just leave you two alone," With that, Inoichi left.

"I have something to tell you too!" Ino squealed; today was turning out great! She could date Deidara and Sakura was talking to her. Sakura grinned.

"You go first." Sakura said, plopping herself on Ino's bed. Ino followed suit and told Sakura her news. Sakura was honestly happy for her, but really wanted to say what she had to say.

"Pein kissed me!" Ino looked at Sakura, shocked.

"You like Pein?" she asked, dumbfounded. Sakura nodded, smiling like an idiot. "So, are you two official?" Sakura huffed.

"No," she pouted. "I didn't know how to ask if we were, so I guess not."

The two sat talking for a while until Sakura let Ino call Deidara.

Pein was waiting outside Sakura's house the next day, to walk her to school. As soon as she saw this, she blushed like mad. Ino, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, went on ahead without her.

The two walked in silence. Sakura really wanted to hold his hand, but didn't know how to. Well, how to without shocking him.

They made it to school. Sakura went to go inside, but Pein held her back. He made her face him, then leaned down and kissed her,

"That's so everyone knows you're mine."

Ino, on the other hand, needed to find Shikamaru. She needed to find a way to tell him as nicely as possible that she and Deidara were back together.

"Hey, un!" Ino turned to see her totally gorgeous boyfriend running up to her. She smiled.

"Hey!" He quickly leaned down to kiss her in the middle of the hallway. Ino pulled away after a moment, before something caught her eye.

Shikamaru. With a heartbroken look on his face.

Guess he knew now.

Lalala

That's all folks! I'm sorry that the ending is crappy, but I just really needed to end this story. Looking back on it, I don't really like it all that much. It doesn't seem to... work for me. And, the story was really going nowhere, so this is it. It's officially over. I am kinda happy, since this means I have finally completed my first story on here! Yay! I hope you all don't hate me for this ending, and I hope you continue to read my stories, whether they be about Naruto or not. I'm a better writer now, and I hope my other stories, and stories I write in the future will be better. Thanks to all who have stuck with me this whole time.

If you want me to write you a story, or have an idea of something you'd like to see me write, message me and tell me! I'm always looking for story ideas! I love you all for reading this story. Bye!


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